World Of Yahoo! Warcraft

Wow, never predicted this: Yahoo! has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook.

Odd move, considering the two are long-time business partners and Facebook's use of Yahoo! information does the latter's site and business more good than harm. Seriously - could you get a better backer than a $100 billion entity?

Yahoo! alleges that Facebook's News Feed service, advertising methods and other site features use/infringe on Yahoo! intellectual property, without due acknowledgement or payment. And, it seems, royalities won't suffice. The company is now seeking triple damages and an injunction that would prevent Facebook from using the patents.

Having re-written all of the facts just now, I'm left asking one rather pressing question: WHY?

If I had a long-standing arrangement with Facebook that worked to my advantage, I'd do what I could to preserve the relationship. Even in the case of wanting more revenue. Isn't there a better way of going about it? Facebook thinks so. It's responded by saying how disappointed and confused they are by the move, citing a lack of direct communication onYahoo's behalf.

Oh dear. I don't know if this will end well. What I am sure of is that with each new day comes a barrage of fresh lawsuits just like this one. The amount of time and money spent sorting all of it out could be put to MUCH betteruse, surely?